The Turkish Armed Forces Personnel Law and the new omnibus law on military service, which were approved by the Parliament, introduced a ban on TikTok and all kinds of social media posts, which were found to have been used before the attacks on bases in northern Iraq.
According to the news in Hürriyet Newspaper, the new regulations, which have been sent to President Tayyip Erdoğan for approval, will be implemented when they are signed and published in the Official Gazette.
The prominent headlines of the regulation, which brings important changes for Turkish Armed Forces personnel, retirees and military students, are as follows:
Communication ban
- TAF personnel will not be able to disclose the identity of themselves or their comrades-in-arms. In addition, within the scope of their duties or activities, soldiers will not be able to share military information, documents, location information or visual and audio data such as pictures, texts, photographs, sound recordings, videos containing any of these.
- “Radio, television, internet, social media, newspapers, magazines, books and all other media” are explicitly listed among the prohibited media. In addition, “all kinds of written, visual, audio and electronic mass media” is included in the scope of the ban. Personnel who commit this offense will be punished with “not leaving the place of service”.
Salary for early retirees
- Military personnel who were referred for retirement due to lack of tenure but could not be granted a pension because they did not meet the age requirement were granted a pension.
Specialized sergeant for contracted personnel
- Contracted conscripts and privates will be able to become specialist sergeants in the force commands to which they are attached. For this, conditions such as being at least a high school graduate or at least a primary school graduate for those with commando qualifications, completing the second year of service on the date of application, and being successful in the exams stipulated in the regulation will be sought.
Additional exam right
- Specialized sergeants will be able to use their unused annual leave in the following year, not exceeding 60 days, as in the case of officers and non-commissioned officers. In addition, special sergeants who could not participate in the transition to non-commissioned officer were given additional exam rights. Contracted conscripts and privates will be able to benefit from service vehicles. If warning, reprimand and disciplinary penalties lead to dismissal, a judicial remedy has been opened against them.
Flight fee for pilots
- Those pilots who leave the Turkish Armed Forces after completing their term of obligation will receive a lump sum payment and additional compensation for the flights they have performed without waiting for the end of their annual duty period. Those pilots who wish to continue to serve as regular officers will receive similar flight compensation to their peers.
- The salaries to be paid to personnel who take additional duties in revolving fund works have also been increased. In addition, the wages of contracted conscripts and privates working in the Amphibious Marine Infantry Commands were increased by 5 percent in terms of job difficulty and risk.
- The parents of martyrs will also be able to become members of the Turkish War Disabled Veterans, Martyrs’ Widows and Orphans Association.
Language school for MSU
- Military students will not be able to change the departments/programs they are studying or the higher education institutions they are studying at, or transfer.
- School of Foreign Languages was opened at the National Defense University. In addition to military students, this school will also provide education to current personnel and visiting students.
Investigation of commanders
- In military crimes allegedly committed by the Chief of General Staff, force commanders, generals and admirals, their last ranks and duties will be taken as basis in determining the authorities authorized to authorize an investigation.
- The bodies and belongings of conscripts and privates can be searched in cases where there is an inconvenience in delay.
Reserve non-commissioned officer period
- The status of “reserve non-commissioned officer” was introduced in the army. During basic training, non-commissioned officer candidates will be paid at the rank of “non-commissioned sergeant”, which is considered the lowest non-commissioned officer rank. The contracts of contracted privates and specialist privates will be terminated due to failure.
